dAveSPEC

I drop it off for the first oil change with about 4600 on the odometer. I specifically tell the service advisor that I want them to put in Mobil1 Synthetic. Made the appointment one week ahead of time. OK then, everything seems cool until I get the invoice and it says 5W-30. I freak out, finally the service advisor tells me some BS about having to order it ahead of time because they don't have it in stock. I'm pissed and don't know what to do!

I realize it shouldn't hurt but the manual says 5W-20! I don't know the effect of heavier oil in in this engine or in Hot-ass Houston weather.

WTF

:angryfire

moeronn

Pull the drain plug out while in their driveway. That'll get them to take care of it right away.

dAveSPEC

LOL, the POS advisor even told me, "Well Mobil1 is better than Honda Oil so it shouldn't matter."

Well no shit, but I seem to think the weight of the oil has a significance as well.
hmmm...

Scott in Houston

What dealer was this so I know ahead of time?

Hawhyen51

There are folks who use 5w-30 and found no ill effects regarding the engine. Here's a thread on the subject matter. You can also do a search regarding multi vis oils and Mobil One. This should put your mind at ease.

Lore

I just put in Mobil Clean 7500 5w30 into my car this weekend. So far in about 160 miles of mostly highway driving with some city driving I've gotten 28mpg. No real penalties with regards to the fuel efficiency, which I believe has been the one potential negative cited with using heavier viscosity oils. I believe the 30 should offer greater protection against the heat. (I think!)

Fabvsix

Real simple:

5w20: Less protection in the long run, better gas mileage (very little at that)
5w30: Better protection and may burn more gas but you will NOT notice the differnce (very little)

Most older Honda/Acura's (just two years ago) all used 5w30 ! Don't sweat it or stress out as its not worth it. I put 5w30 syn mobile one is both my 05 MDX and 04 RL and they both call for 5w20.....

caball88

there were a few threads discussing the difference between oil weights and 5w30 will give better protection at a small sacrifice in mpg. also i think there was a ulev thing which was part of the reason 5w20 is used in the motors. i have 5w30 mobil 1 in the car and have ran fine with it for the last 2 oil changes. 5w20 mobil was harder to find previously in auto stores so i just used 5w30 since most people here agreed that there was no real harm and added slightly better protection.

fasttl

Makes absolutely no difference. Next time take it somewhere else.

fasttl

Makes absolutely no difference.
BTW, mobil one does not make 5w20 only 0w20. Therefore, they could not satisfy your craving for expesive, no better oil, even if they wanted to. Next time save your money and your temper and use regular oil, thats what the maintenance minder is calibrated to any way.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Mine's an A2, but it asks for 5w20, as well. I always run Mobil1 5w30. Nothing to panic about.

Repecat

Don't worry about it. Your car will be just fine with the 5w-30 I doubt that you would even notice any difference in fuel mileage. The slightly heavier weight might be a bit better during hot weather, anyway.

SodaLuvr

A 5w-30 does not necessairly offer you better protection than a 5w-20. The only time I'd even consider using a 5w-30 is if I was towing a 14,000 pound trailer, which I never would be in a TL, or if I was racing.

Keep in mind that Honda/Acuras have very tight tolerances, so don't go about using those ACEA A3/B3 rated borderline 30/40wts thinking that you may receive better protection.

Many of us here overlook a simple fact about 5w-30 conventionals. Few of them actually stay in grade over a 3-5K period, they often shear down immediately to a 20wt due to the large span and the VIs, why not start out with a more shear stable oil, a 5w-20?

Now, a 5w-20 synthetic doesn't shear 99% of the time, same applies to a 5w-30. A 5w-20 synthetic is now I say, probably, superior to a 5w-30 conventional.

In addition, although the effects of fuel economy maybe negligible, a 5w-20 can at times allow the engine to be more responsive and much smoother than a 5w-30 with just a bit more engine noise since a thinner oil can be easier on the engine.

My take: Use a 5w-20 conventional or a synthetic. Auto-RX periodicially to remove those deposits.

Note: The only time I'd use M1 5w-30 over M1 5w-20 is when the 5w-20 is priced significantly higher ($0.50/quart more), then I'd use 5w-30.

Michael

SodaLuvr

No, they discontinued 0w-20 a few months ago in favor of 5w-20.

The 0w-20 was a superior oil compared to the 5w-20 IMO since it flowed better upon startup, which may allow it to reduce some startup wear.

Michael

TL-N

WOuld'nt you want the slightly thicker oil in regions that are warmer, such as houston? And vice versa for regions are are cooler?

crazymjb

With a slight difference like that you should be OK, as long as you dont do it forever. One oil change shouldnt cause a problem.

SuperDallas

they are both 5w when up at temp, so what's the beef?

Repecat

They are both 5w when cold...........a different story when operating temp is reached.

SuperDallas

i thought it was 5w-30 (5 when hot, 30 when cold), and 5w-20 (5 when hot, 20 when cold)

if it were as you say, why do others say a 5w-20 is better for starting cold if both are 5w when cold??

SouthernBoy

Just bought 5W/20 Mobil 1 this weekend for both TLs. Also a Mobil 1 M1-104 filter for mine.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Well put, Michael. I know you are knowledgeable with engine oil, and I agree with you. I run 5w30 because I drive my car like I would throw it away at the end of the day, and I figured I should use 5w30 synthetic to be on the safe side. Also, Mobil1 doesn't make 5w20 synthetic, and the 5w30 is the closest thing to it. But lately I've been thinking about switching to Amsoil or Redline. I do believe that they make 5w20 synthetic.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

The first number refers to the viscosity of the oil when cold, and the second number indicates the viscosity when at operating temperature. Theoretically speaking, 5w20 and 5w30 will provide the same protection upon cold start, and the 5w30 will be a bit thicker at op. temp. when compared to 5w20.

Now if you compared 5w20 to 10w20, then 5w20 will be better upon cold start, annd at op. temp, they will both provide the same protection.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

WTF? Mobil makes 5w20 synthetic now?

SuperDallas

my bad.

multi-grade uses 2 totally different #'s to define it's range.

there's the "weight" when cold, and then the SAE kinematic viscosity at 100°C

so a 5w is "lighter" than a 10w at 0°C, but both in a -30 would have same kinematic viscosity at 100°C (SAE30).

scrb09

DUDE, Mobil One Full Synthetic is very well available in 5W20...I bough it from Autozone and put it in 2 weeks ago @ my 14,000 oil change.

scrb09

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/...l_1_5W-20.aspx

Russdaddy

You should be okay. I wouldn't take the car back to the dealer for they gave that wack excuse on why they couldn't put the oil in. For my first oil change I went to (flamesuit on just in case) Wal-Mart. I watched them pull penzoil synthetic 5W-20 off the shelf and put it in my car. For 31 bucks that's the cheapest sythetic oil change I've seen - And I didn't have to call in for an appointment.

stklee

i am really confused i know the book said 5w-20 but what is the problem with using the mobil 1 full synethic 5w-30 other than the slight viscosity difference?? i just did my first oil change with the mobil 1 full synethic 5w-30 and it is running great! correct me if i am wrong.

Repecat

Re-read Michaels #12 post for your answer. I don't think you will do any harm to your engine by running 5w-30, but why not adhere to the manufacturers recommendation? After all, they are the ones that designed the engine.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Son of a gun. I didn't even know. I buy my oil at CostCo because it's cheap, but they didn't have 5w20 synthetic yet. Looks like I'm switching!!


What's your opinion on Amsoil and Redline, Michael?

HEK

WOWOWO....Mobil 1 makes 5w20 I bought it at Wallmart just a couple of weeks ago to do a change on my kid's Civic....I couldn't find 5-20 in 5 Qt.'s container so I paid a little more than $18.95 for a 5Qt. bottle, had to buy 4 (1Qt) cans....

mickey3c

People have to relax a bit more... freaking out over something like that is crazy since it will not cause any problems with the car. If you are that concerned about it... Next time tell them you will bring your own and to use that oil and just charge you labor. If they cannot provide the exact rating that is specified for the car then you should be able to do that...

kosh2258

Boy, you got that right. The difference between 5W20 and 5W30 is negligible for all practical purposes, especially with a synthetic.

I was just on a trip with mine a little over a week ago. My average speed (two lane trip) was a bit over 60 mph and my average mpg for the trip was 34 mpg (which means at some points I was getting in excess of this). Guess what, I'm running M1 5W-30 in the sump.

Please re-read your manuals folks. The word recommended is the operative phrase, the word mandatory doesn't appear anywhere.

TL-N

The sale of 5w20 syn is probably regional. It is no where to be found in the SE Texas region or houston.

fasttl

I stand corrected!

Fabvsix

TL-N:
Texas requires "HUMIDITY" oil. Look for that in your region.........
Just kidding.....

Fabvsix

I registered with Mobile 1. Put my car info in and they recommmend the oil best to protect:
Results:
Current Vehicle:
Year: 2004
Make: Acura
Model: RL
Engine Type: 6 cyl. 3.5 Liter VTEC






Ultimate Protection

Mobil 1 5W-30
A fully synthetic motor oil, Mobil 1 5W-30 with SuperSyn Technology, is the approved and the first choice of many premium car manufacturers, including Corvette.

MANUFACTUR RECOMMENDS 5W20, as it printed on the oil cap but look what Mobile suggested !!!!

I sticking with 5w30 syn by Mobile one as I have for the past 4 plus years !

ericajackhannahjamie?

So you told the dealership to put in Mobil 1 synthetic and they put in Mobil 1 5W-30? FYI, I've been using Mobil 1 5w-30 since my first oil change and my car has 15k. Why are you fuzzing over this? Your dealership did the right thing, 5w-30 is better than ow-20 that goes into our TL.

They used the right oil so take a chill pill

SodaLuvr

Hi,
I have a friend who has experienced the same problem. He has a Honda Odyssey, oil cap says 5w-20 but manual says 5w-30. I confirmed and found out that 5w-30 is indeed the recommended grade, dunno why they have 5w-20 on the cap. (Perhaps just print one type of oil cap for all V6 engines????)

Always check your owner's manual for the recommended grade, the oil cap itself may sometimes be wrong.

I checked with Amsoil Product Application Guide, powered by Alldata I believe, and it too suggests that Acura recommends 5w-30 under all temperatures for this vehicle.

Thus, technically, 5w-30 is the correct oil for this application, NOT 5w-20. Check your manual to confirm.

Main Event: Don't get carried away thinking that 5w-30 is superior to 5w-20 because of the incident above. In that case, 5w-30 was not superior to 5w-20, it was simply that 5w-30 was the recommended grade and the oil cap was misprinted.

Michael

SodaLuvr

Redline is an excellent product, its just sad that people stop using it after the first use because "they think" that what they see, but really isn't, is a poor oil analysis.

Redline is different than other oils because it has a very strong and unique chemistry, its additive pack tends to expand itself and clean-up the deposits left behind from other oils like I've never seen before. A lot of times, there are a lot of "soft" residue wear metals on the surface of engines, thus during the first three or four uses of Redline, you'll see high wear metals while using Redline since Redline is cleaning up those metals, "dumping" them into the oil. In addition, if there is dirt in the engine, it tends to form some type of protective barrier, and sometimes that'll show up as wear as well in a UOA.

A popular misunderstanding about Redline is that it has a very short lifespan. Although its TBN will deplete very rapidly during the first three to four uses while its cleaning, unlike other oils, Redline still has the ability to neutralize acids and perform well even if the TBN reads low or zero. This one application where I dislike using Blackstone labs, since its TBN readings are often 1.5-2 points lower than other labs since they use a different method; in this case, if Blackstone's TBN is reading 0, it really may not be 0 when tested by another lab. In addition, the usage of Lube Control with Redline helps TBN retention and extends the oil life singificantly, as with most oils.

Amsoil is an excellent product, but IMO, their higher end products are based on an outdated chemistry. They thicken like "crazy," mainly because the oils have some type of oxidation problem. If you use LC, it will control much of the oxidation but even then, the oil will thicken significantly more than most oils. However, its XL line of oil doesn't seem to suffer from this problem, and IMO, even though its a GrpIII based synthetic, it performs as well as Mobil 1 and is at approximately the same price, plus or minus $0.50/quart. To me, they're worth looking at. I think the Amsoil XL line of oils can last a lot longer than Mobil 1 oils, because of better TBN retention. Along with LC, it can really be the "cat's meow" for those very long drains. Not long ago, I posted an UOA of Amsoil XL-7500 5w-20 NOT the new Amsoil XL 5w-20, but the XL 5w-20 is simply the new name for the product after the reformulation for the SM/GF-4 specs. The oil had performed very well in a 2004 Acura TL, and could've easily lasted 7500 miles. It seemed to have been a very good pair for that particular engine and application.

Michael